Re: st: How to link the help file for a command to its immediate version (or generally add aliases)

Re: st: How to link the help file for a command to its immediate version (or generally add aliases)

Date

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:13:05 -0400

Thank you Ken and Nick.
I suspected that *.maint files are overwritten during updates, but
wanted to reconfirm.
Best regards, Sergiy Radyakin
On Mon, Sep 29, 2008 at 12:57 PM, Nick Cox <n.j.cox@stata.com> wrote:
> Spelling out a point made by Sergiy Radyakin:
>
> Suppose you write foobar.ado and want Stata to recognise
>
> foo
> foob
> fooba
>
> as abbreviations. The slow but sure way to do this is by wrapper files
>
> ---- foo.ado
> program foo
> foobar `0'
> end
> ----
>
> ---- foob.ado
> program foob
> foobar `0'
> end
> ----
>
> ---- fooba.ado
> program fooba
> foobar `0'
> end
> ----
>
> In other words, it is easy, if a little tedious. `0' is the way to echo
> whatever followed the command name to the command being called.
>
> It would be good practice to include a -version- statement in each program.
>
> However, if any of the abbreviations are official Stata commands, or
> abbreviations thereof, you will get them instead, unless in some cases you
> mess with -adopath- (which is emphatically not recommended).
>
> Nick
> n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk
>
> Eva Poen wrote:
>
>> Is it possible, for a user written command, to link the help file for
>> -command- to -commandi-? I.e., when typing -help commandi-, what
>> should show up is the help file for -command-, because it's all
>> documented in one file.
>>
>> I came across the *help_alias.maint files in the Stata installation,
>> which I think do the job for Stata's official commands. I can't see a
>> way to add aliases (any, really, also abbreviations) for non-official
>> commands.
>>
>> I'm forgetful with options, so I get to call the help files for my own
>> programs from time to time. Combined with my habit of inventing long,
>> akward names for programs, this is a lot of typing...
>>
>> Eva
>> *
>> * For searches and help try:
>> * http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search
>> * http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
>> * http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/
>>
>
> *
> * For searches and help try:
> * http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search
> * http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
> * http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/
>
*
* For searches and help try:
* http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search
* http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
* http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/